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enHomeless Prophets and Tragic Hopehttp://dojustice.crcna.org/article/homeless-prophets-and-tragic-hope
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="textformatter-list"><a href="/author/jeremiah-damir-ba%C5%A1uri%C4%87" class="node node-955 node-bio node-reference">Jeremiah Damir Bašurić</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>We're excited to welcome <a href="http://dojustice.crcna.org/author/jeremiah-damir-ba%C5%A1uri%C4%87">Jeremiah Damir Bašurić</a> as a <em>Do Justice</em> columnist! Jeremiah lives in Edmonton, where he pastors a multi-cultural Reformed church plant called mosaicHouse Church, works at The Mustard Seed, and hikes with his wife Sarah. </p>
<hr /><p> </p>
<p>Ever since I realized my name was in the Bible, I wanted to get acquainted with the book and the prophet Jeremiah. I read Jeremiah 4:23-27 the other day looking for inspiration: </p>
<p><em>I have seen, and here: the earth,<br />
and it was formless and empty;<br />
and the heavens,<br />
their light was gone.<br />
I have seen, and here: the mountains,<br />
and they were quaking;<br />
all the hills were swaying.<br />
I have seen, and here: no people;<br />
every bird in the sky had flown away.<br />
I have seen, and here: the fruitful land was a desert;<br />
all its towns lay in ruins<br />
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.<br />
This is what the Lord says:<br />
“The whole land will be ruined,<br />
though I will not destroy it completely.</em></p>
<p><em>(paraphrase by Ellen Davis in “Scripture, Culture and Agriculture”)</em></p>
<p>Instead of inspiration, I found despair. Instead of gaining a better understanding of Jeremiah, I was left more confused. I mean what is with all the apocalyptic negativity? Where was grace and hope?</p>
<blockquote><h5>What is with all the apocalyptic negativity?</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>I did not understand this passage until one of my friends experiencing homelessness came to a Bible study hosted at The Mustard Seed, the ministry where I work. He came to the study downcast. And although he tried to contain it, he could not hold back what he had seen.</p>
<p>“Again and again this keeps happening. I had to do something….”</p>
<p><em>He had seen a man creeping closer to one of his sisters. The man’s eyes held the coldness of a politician and his words were full of violence. He desired the sister as Egypt had desired virgin Israel. The man was a dragon backed by an army of leopards. My brother saw the Lord hot with anger, yet silent and distant, so he stood in the gap between his sister and the dragon – bearing all the strength he could to resist his desire to defeat the dragon with a sword. The dragon backed down and the leopards dispersed.</em></p>
<blockquote><h5>In tears and violent words, my brother relayed this vision to the group.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>My brother said he had seen the end of time, when the lights of heaven are gone. In tears and violent words, my brother relayed this vision to the group. Our group did not fully understand his “negativity”. Neither did I at the time. And then the words of Jeremiah became clear to me:</p>
<p><em>I have seen, and here, a de-creation, a disintegration back to the formless void, the wasteland, the violent dark chaos.</em></p>
<p><em>I have seen, and here, the mountains and hills, the elevations and the skyscrapers palpitate to the frequency of bust and boom. I have seen, and here, cities pulled up and dismembered by the resonance of that same neo-liberal frequency.</em></p>
<p>Jeremiah describes despair in order to help us reach hope. Hope is not only contained in the last verse of this passage—it permeates every word.</p>
<blockquote><h5>Jeremiah describes despair in order to help us reach hope.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>Ellen Davis calls this type of seeing, which is so pervasive among the prophets, “tragic imagination.’ The purpose of the tragic imagination was not to lead the people toward negativity or despair, but rather paradoxically to lead people back towards the path of, to use Wendell Berry’s pun, “re-membering”. To re-member oneself back into the membership of a healthy community which participates in God’s redemptive movement towards the shalom of the earth, a wholeness reminiscent of the garden-land of Genesis. It was meant to inspire hope in an apathetic heart, a heart diseased with an imagination corrupted by the dominant culture of the city.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, like many others like him, my friend’s voice is not heard. He is a crushed man, bearing weight of a cross far too heavy to carry. The weight of his cross is unbearable because the Church, the body of Christ, has dismembered him. They have labeled him an outcast, a heretic – or even more condemning – impolite, intolerable, not nice. We have pushed him out to the fringes, kicking him out of the court like the prophets before him. We have exiled him to the inner-city so that he may die and his vision may be silenced.</p>
<blockquote><h5>Unfortunately, like many others like him, my friend’s voice is not heard.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>By marginalizing those with this apocalyptic prophetic voice, the voices that can unveil what’s actually going on in our world, we actually abandon hope. We abandon the ability to see where we have conformed to the pattern of this world and we avoid the grisly question: what if my brother is right?</p>
<p>What if the words of Jesus are true and the poor exiles are blessed while woes are saved for the complicit and churched rich?</p>
<p>What if our good news, God’s Kingdom and reign revealed in Jesus Christ, actually runs at odds with the political and economic security offered by the city? These are the questions the tragic imagination leads us to.</p>
<blockquote><h5>What if my brother is right?</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>The ancient Greek word that our English work “apocalypse” comes from literally means an “uncovering.” Biblically, this uncovering (the apocalypse) comes before the restoration of all things—things will be revealed as they really are. </p>
<p>However, the biblical vision is not only tragic. It also tells us of a hope that will never abandon us. However, in order to reach this tremendous hope, we much first embrace the vision and the person of the tragic prophet. We must first be willing to see.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/domestic-poverty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Domestic Poverty</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/canada" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Canada</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/economic-justice" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Economic Justice</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/categories/already-and-not-yet" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Already and Not Yet</a></div></div></div>Mon, 18 Feb 2019 08:00:00 +0000drowaan989 at http://dojustice.crcna.orgPro-Life Before Conception Means Caring for Girlshttp://dojustice.crcna.org/article/pro-life-conception-means-caring-girls
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="textformatter-list"><a href="/author/adejoke-ayoola" class="node node-979 node-bio node-reference">Adejoke Ayoola</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>About 700 women die each year in the U.S. as a result of pregnancy or delivery complications.<sup>1</sup> This rate of pregnancy-related death is higher in the United States than the rates in other industrialized nations.</p>
<blockquote><h5>About 700 women die each year in the U.S. as a result of pregnancy or delivery complications.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>Many of these deaths are preventable.<sup>1,2</sup> Maternal pregnancy-related death and infant mortality rates reflect the health of the nation and communities in which these women live. Sadly, there are deep disparities in maternal and infant mortality in the U.S. depending on the race of the woman.<sup>3–6</sup></p>
<p>The disparity in maternal pregnancy-related death and infant health outcomes, especially infant mortality rate (IMR, the death of an infant before his or her first birthday), among non-Hispanic black women is one of the greatest health inequities in the U.S. Non-Hispanic black women had a 3.4 times higher risk of dying from pregnancy complications compared to non-Hispanic white women.<sup>1,2</sup> Infant mortality rate among non-Hispanic black women is more than double the rate among white women <sup>5,7–9</sup> (CDC, 2018- Infant mortality). In 2016, the overall IMR in the U.S. was 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, yet the IMR for non‐Hispanic blacks is 11.4 infant deaths per 1000 live births compared to 4.9 infant deaths per 1000 live births for white women.<sup>7</sup></p>
<blockquote><h5><strong>Infant mortality rate among non-Hispanic black women is more than double the rate among white women.</strong></h5>
</blockquote>
<p>There are also significant disparities in other birth outcomes, like preterm birth rate and low birth weight.</p>
<p>There are many reasons for these disparities: maternal health behaviors, genetics, physical and social environments with lifelong exposure to stress, etc. <sup>2,3,8,10</sup> In addition, pregnancy-related maternal complications, including cardiovascular conditions, hypertension in pregnancy, gestational diabetes, access to quality care, health provider interactions, the health care system and policies, and insurance play clear roles.<sup>8,10,11</sup></p>
<p>To eliminate the health inequities, especially those due to sociocultural differences, poor access to or quality of health care we need to prepare women and young girls before they become pregnant (ie. preconception care).<sup>8,10</sup> It is important to promote healthy biological, social, cultural, and spiritual environments throughout the lifespan of a young girl to adulthood.</p>
<blockquote><h5>It is important to promote healthy biological, social, cultural, and spiritual environments throughout the lifespan of a young girl.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>Preconception services are the medical care a woman receives from the doctor or other health professionals to increase the chances of having a healthy baby. This care is provided through screening, health promotion, and intervention services provided for women of childbearing age before or between pregnancies.<sup>13–16</sup> Screening includes assessment of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use. Health promotion includes health counseling services on general health topics, and receipt of pregnancy-related counseling before pregnancy.</p>
<p>Some of the healthy habits that are part of preconception counselling include taking 400 micrograms of folic acid, being active, eating healthy foods, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding smoking and alcohol use, avoiding use of “street” drugs, getting regular checkups, and managing and reducing stress.<sup>14–19</sup></p>
<blockquote><h5>While women are interested in preconception health, many do not receive preconception care. </h5>
</blockquote>
<p>While women are interested in preconception health, many do not receive preconception care and many health care providers have yet to offer these services to women during clinic visits.<sup>15</sup> Minorities and underserved populations are among the least likely to use preconception services effectively, and are disproportionately affected by adverse pregnancy outcomes.<sup>4</sup> </p>
<p>That’s one of the reasons I designed the HEALTH camp. Women’s health promotion program and the <a href="https://calvin.edu/news/archive/a-journey-from-simple-questions-to-generations-of-wisdom">girls HEALTH (Health Education And Leadership Training for a Hopeful future) camp</a> organized through the Calvin College Department of Nursing are designed to promote preconception health among women and girls, especially ethnic minority women and girls, with the goal of promoting healthy birth outcomes.</p>
<p>The camp was also established in response to the request from women in the nursing department partnering neighborhoods to teach their daughters about the reproductive health content in the women’s health promotion program.</p>
<blockquote><h5>That’s one of the reasons I designed the HEALTH camp.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>The camp is free for girls between nine and 15 years old who mostly are from ethnic minority groups in partnering neighborhoods in Grand Rapids. It is an interdisciplinary program, involving more than ten Calvin College departments, with the goal of promoting a culture of health, educating girls about how their bodies work and how to keep themselves healthy, broadening their visions for their future, and helping them ponder what God might be calling them to in their part of building the kingdom.</p>
<p>The girls are introduced to basic health concepts related to nutrition, exercise, reproductive health, mental health, healthy behaviors, healthy communities and environments, genetics, and cancer education. The second goal of the annual summer camp is to introduce young girls to different health professions such as nursing, medicine, social work etc. with the goal of inspiring them to pursue a health profession for their future career.</p>
<blockquote><h5>The camp is free for girls between nine and 15 years old who mostly are from ethnic minority groups in partnering neighborhoods.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>We ran the first HEALTH camp in the summer of 2016 and have continued to offer the camp every summer ever since. It has been a great joy to see over 100 girls every year and to see the commitment and dedication of Calvin College professors, students, and staff as they pour into the lives of these young girls to equip them for a better future.</p>
<p><em>Learn more about HEALTH camp on the <a href="https://calvin.edu/offices-services/college-access-programs/camps/health/">Calvin College website</a>.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>References</strong></p>
<p>1. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Pregnancy-Related Deaths. Reproductive Health (2018). Available at: <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pregnancy-relatedmortality.htm">https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pregnancy-re...</a>. (Accessed: 18th January 2019)</p>
<p>2. Creanga, A. A., Syverson, C., Seed, K. &amp; Callaghan, W. M. Pregnancy-Related Mortality in the United States, 2011–2013. Obstet. Gynecol. 130, 366–373 (2017).</p>
<p>3. BRYANT, A. S., WORJOLOH, A., CAUGHEY, A. B. &amp; WASHINGTON, A. E. Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Obstetrical Outcomes and Care: Prevalence and Determinants. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 202, 335–343 (2010).</p>
<p>4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eliminate disparities in infant mortality. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (2008). Available at: <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/omhd/AMH/factsheets/infant.htm">http://www.cdc.gov/omhd/AMH/factsheets/infant.htm</a>.</p>
<p>5. Louis, J. M., Menard, M. K. &amp; Gee, R. E. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Maternal Morbidity and Mortality. Obstet. Gynecol. 125, 690 (2015).</p>
<p>6. Small, M. J., Allen, T. K. &amp; Brown, H. L. Global disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality. Semin. Perinatol. 41, 318–322 (2017).</p>
<p>7. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Infant Mortality. (2018). Available at: <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/infantmortality.htm">https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/infantmortal...</a>. (Accessed: 19th January 2019)</p>
<p>8. Alhusen, J. L., Bower, K. M., Epstein, E. &amp; Sharps, P. Racial Discrimination and Adverse Birth Outcomes: An Integrative Review. J. Midwifery Womens Health 61, 707–720 (2016).</p>
<p>9. Matthews, T. J., MacDorman, M. F. &amp; Thoma, M. E. Infant Mortality Statistics From the 2013 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. Natl. Vital Stat. Rep. Cent. Dis. Control Prev. Natl. Cent. Health Stat. Natl. Vital Stat. Syst. 64, 1–30 (2015).</p>
<p>10. Lu, M. C. &amp; Halfon, N. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Birth Outcomes: A Life-Course Perspective. Matern. Child Health J. 7, 13–30 (2003).</p>
<p>11. Park, J., Vincent, D. &amp; Hastings-Tolsma, M. Disparity in prenatal care among women of colour in the USA. Midwifery 23, 28–37 (2007).</p>
<p>12. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Access to Women’s Health Care: Statement of Policy. (2013).</p>
<p>13. Johnson, K. et al. Recommendations to improve preconception health and health care--United States. A report of the CDC/ATSDR Preconception Care Work Group and the Select Panel on Preconception Care. MMWR Recomm. Rep. Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. Recomm. Rep. Cent. Dis. Control 55, 1–23 (2006).</p>
<p>14. Hillemeier, M. M., Weisman, C. S., Chase, G. A., Dyer, A.-M. &amp; Shaffer, M. L. Women’s preconceptional health and use of health services: implications for preconception care. Health Serv. Res. 43, 54–75 (2008).</p>
<p>15. Frey, K. A. &amp; Files, J. A. Preconception Healthcare: What Women Know and Believe. Matern. Child Health J. 10, 73–77 (2006).</p>
<p>16. Moos, M.-K. From concept to practice: reflections on the preconception health agenda. J. Womens Health 2002 19, 561–567 (2010).</p>
<p>17. Berghella, V., Buchanan, E., Pereira, L. &amp; Baxter, J. K. Preconception care. Obstet. Gynecol. Surv. 65, 119–131 (2010).</p>
<p>18. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Preconception Health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014). Available at: <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/preconception/overview.html">https://www.cdc.gov/preconception/overview.html</a>. (Accessed: 30th January 2019)</p>
<p>19. Nypaver, C., Arbour, M. &amp; Niederegger, E. Preconception Care: Improving the Health of Women and Families. J. Midwifery Womens Health 61, 356–364 (2016).</p>
<p><em>[Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/_KP6Ve-rnNw?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Alex Nemo Hanse</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>]</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/abortion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Abortion</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/canada" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Canada</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/domestic-poverty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Domestic Poverty</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/gender" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Gender</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/categories/news-field" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News from the Field</a></div></div></div>Wed, 30 Jan 2019 19:21:58 +0000drowaan980 at http://dojustice.crcna.orgI Delivered my Baby Alone...and You Advocated with Mehttp://dojustice.crcna.org/article/i-delivered-my-baby-aloneand-you-advocated-me
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="textformatter-list"><a href="/author/heather-kooiman" class="node node-974 node-bio node-reference">Heather Kooiman</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>This is the third post in Pro-Mama, a 4-part series reflecting on God's gift of life in the first 1000 days of a baby's life--from conception to age 2. <a href="http://dojustice.crcna.org/series/pro-mama">Visit this page</a> to subscribe or to see other posts in the series. </p>
<p>Today we're hearing from Heather Kooiman, a nurse who has worked in many northern Ontario communities. </p>
<h5>1) Tell us a little about your experience in Indigenous communities.</h5>
<p>I grew up in southern Ontario and had little knowledge of the people who are Indigenous to Canada but I started working in First Nations communities in northern Ontario with a non-profit organization who started to run summer programs for children and youth.</p>
<p>After my first experience working in this northern community, I knew that this wasn’t going to be only one summer. I couldn’t believe that I was still in the same country much less the same province that I had grown up in. Some homes lacked running water and electricity. Most homes were trailer homes with 5-10 people living in this small space.</p>
<blockquote><h5>After my first experience working in this northern community, I knew that this wasn’t going to be only one summer.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>I had seen poverty in Eastern Europe and East Africa but this seemed worse—the people in this community lived in a wealthy country, Canada, yet they lacked necessities that other Canadians take for granted. It seemed to me that something had gone wrong that the First Peoples of this country were living like this. Since that first summer, I have spent over 10 years in that community and have worked as a nurse in other northern communities.</p>
<h5>2) What disparities have you seen in the healthcare and support that's available to Indigenous moms living on reserve? </h5>
<p>I have only worked in a few communities and can speak to some of the concerns that I have seen. The concerns that I have seen, especially in northern Ontario, revolve around the issue of remoteness. Most communities are fly-in communities and since small nursing stations serve the communities, women need to fly out to larger communities to delivery their baby.</p>
<blockquote><h5>Women need to fly out to larger communities to delivery their baby.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>During my time working as a nurse in a fly-in community, the government had cut funding so that when it came time for the mom to leave the community, there was only funding for the mother to go alone. Despite all the research in health care that recognizes the importance of having emotional support especially during a time such as labour and delivery, the women would often deliver their children alone.</p>
<p>I had conversations with pregnant women on a regular basis where they would tell me that they did not want to leave their family to be alone for a couple weeks waiting to deliver their child. Pregnant women would often ‘go into hiding’ so that they wouldn’t be sent out of the community alone. There were also times that women wouldn’t leave in hopes of delivering their child in the community.</p>
<blockquote><h5>Pregnant women would often ‘go into hiding’ so that they wouldn’t be sent out of the community alone.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>During my time in northern communities, I assisted in a number of deliveries that thankfully all went well. But we were always concerned that if there were any complications, we would not have the equipment and facilities to handle all complications.</p>
<p>One story that sticks out to me clearly is about a woman named Celine (her name is changed for confidentiality). Celine had 5 children and was pregnant with twins. Due to the higher risk that comes with delivering twins, we were adamant that she deliver her babies in a larger hospital that could accommodate any needs or complications that could arise.</p>
<p>But when the time came for her to leave the community, she didn’t want to leave. Not only did she not want to deliver alone far from her community, but she also had 5 young children that she didn’t want to leave behind. I remember the daily stress of worrying that she would deliver the babies before leaving the community.</p>
<blockquote><h5>One story that sticks out to me clearly is about a woman named Celine.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>One day she came into the nursing station in labour. In a panic, we were able to get a helicopter into the community and had multiple health care professionals accompany her as she flew to the nearest hospital.</p>
<p>This story is one example that things can improve though. Many women have similar stories and from these stories came voices that advocated for change. Thanks to years of advocacy, the government changed its policy and now allows both parents to fly out of the community together for the birth of their child. It is situations like this that feed my hope that speaking up for change can make shifts in the right direction.</p>
<p>It still isn’t perfect. These communities do not have the same resources that we have around the corner from our homes. And we cannot start to blame the people who live in these communities–it was European settlers that made treaties with these people giving them specific remote land areas to live and we agreed to provide the services that they needed.</p>
<blockquote><h5>Many women have similar stories and from these stories came voices that advocated for change.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>But we haven’t kept our end of the treaties. I know, you didn’t sign the treaty, neither did I.</p>
<p>There is an interesting story in the Bible about a treaty. In Joshua 9, the Gibeonites tricked Joshua into making a treaty with them. The Gibeonites were the Israelites’ neighbours and feared that they would be killed so they pretended to have come from a distant land and made a treaty of peace with Joshua.</p>
<blockquote><h5>There is an interesting story in the Bible about a treaty.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>Then we read in 2 Samuel 21 that there was a famine in the land for three years. David turns to God and God tells him that there is a famine because Saul broke the treaty with the Gibeonites and put them to death. That’s right, hundreds of years later, a treaty that neither Saul nor David made was the cause of a famine. God values treaties. If God values treaties then I think we need to view treaties with the same respect. </p>
<h5>3) Where could you see the Christian community playing a positive role in this situation?</h5>
<p>Honestly, the best place to start is ourselves. It’s easy to say that you are not racist, but do you complain that governments may be spending more of your tax dollars on adequate and equal housing, education, and health care in remote Indigenous communities? Do you think that Indigenous communities are wasting money (without knowing the details of their finances)?</p>
<p>These are unconscious forms of racism. We need to reflect on what Jesus would say about these situations. I know what Jesus would say: He told me to love my neighbor as myself. That’s a high calling.</p>
<blockquote><h5>Honestly, the best place to start is ourselves.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>Jesus isn’t calling us to remember our neighbor once in a while and tithe 10% of our money to other people. He is calling us to a radical life to care for the needs of our neighbor in the same way that we care about our own needs. I think we need to reflect on the words of Jesus and ask Him what that means for our lives, every day.</p>
<p>I am not here to tell you which way to vote but I think it is imperative to discuss the priorities of Indigenous people with your Member of Parliament. If they are aware that it will impact how you are going to vote, then they will more likely make it an important part of their platform.</p>
<blockquote><h5>I think it is imperative to discuss the priorities of Indigenous people with your Member of Parliament.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>The government is obviously not the only way to make change but it is definitely a place where change needs to happen so that they make choices that support Indigenous peoples.</p>
<p><em>[Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/BYRAglAqrtQ?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Sergiu Vălenaș</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>]</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/indigenous-justice" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Indigenous Justice</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/race" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Race</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/domestic-poverty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Domestic Poverty</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/canada" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Canada</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/categories/best-practices" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Best Practices</a></div></div></div>Mon, 28 Jan 2019 19:11:40 +0000drowaan977 at http://dojustice.crcna.orgDoula as Pro-Life Agenthttp://dojustice.crcna.org/article/doula-pro-life-agent
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="textformatter-list"><a href="/author/denise-kingdom-grier" class="node node-970 node-bio node-reference">Denise Kingdom-Grier</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><h5>This is the second post in Pro-Mama, a 4-part series reflecting on God's gift of life in the first 1000 days of a baby's life--from conception to age 2.</h5>
<h5><a href="http://dojustice.crcna.org/series/pro-mama">Subscribe here</a> to make sure you don't miss a post. </h5>
<p> </p>
<p>She may not be laying down at the threshold of the local abortion clinic. She might not be found in heated political debates on social media.</p>
<blockquote><h5>She is down on her knees beside a birthing ball.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>She is, however, down on her knees beside a birthing ball. Her arms are extending a rebozo, a Mexican scarf that is perfect for relieving back labor. She gives chips of ice to the one in labor, reassurance to the partner standing by. She is God’s agent who is saving the lives of unborn babies.</p>
<p>I wish I knew then what I know now. It is not that I didn’t try. When I was pregnant I read books, went to classes, and consulted with friends. Yet I was still so unprepared and uninformed. Pregnancy and birth were for me about holding the newborn baby, a means to an end. </p>
<blockquote><h5>I wish I knew then what I know now.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>As an act of obedience and a response to my daughter’s professional interest in midwifery, she and I spent thirty-six hours training to become birth doulas.</p>
<p>Doula is a Greek word for “woman helper”--it’s the closest we could get to midwifery in the United States, where one must have extensive training in the medical field to actually be a midwife. A doula is a non-medical support person who aims to provide support and amplify the voice of the person giving birth. </p>
<blockquote><h5>A doula is a non-medical support person who aims to provide support and amplify the voice of the person giving birth. </h5>
</blockquote>
<p>The doula helps the birth parent(s) come up with a birth plan, provides evidence-based, suggestions for breathing, positioning, and comfort during labor. She is present with the family from pre-labor through early postpartum. She also provides prompts and reassurance to partners during labor, delivery, and surgery if a cesarean is necessary. </p>
<p>Beyond the physical, lifesaving aspects of having a doula present during labor, there is an amazing spiritual aspect of the work that clarified for me why God was bugging me about this midwife/doula thing. The four-day training helped me understand the complexity and beauty of the process. The gestation period, the labor pains, and the pushing was all part of a beautiful process to bring to light something that has been growing in the dark.</p>
<blockquote><h5>The presence of doulas in the birthing room is literally saving the lives of unborn babies. </h5>
</blockquote>
<p>This is not just anecdotal. Dona International is the organization that professionalized the role of doula and provided our extensive training. Evidence-based research shows how doula-assisted births have a higher degree of natural non-medicated births, and Vaginal Births After C-sections (VBACS) as well as a lower level of cesarean births overall. The presence of doulas in the birthing room is literally saving the lives of unborn babies. </p>
<p>The data shows the significant difference having a doula makes for birth outcomes.</p>
<p>Mothers with doulas have:</p>
<ul><li>28% less Cesarean sections (reducing risks associated with major surgery)</li>
<li>31% less less synthetic Oxytocin (labor-inducing medicine i.e. Pitocin)</li>
<li>9% less likely to have pain medicine (i.e. epidural)</li>
<li>34% <a href="https://www.dona.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/DONA-Birth-Position-Paper-FINAL.pdf">more likely to rate their birth experience favorably</a></li>
</ul><p>Typically birth doulas charge between $750-1500 per birth. The cost of this pro-life agent creates a barrier for some of the most vulnerable mothers and babies in the U.S.</p>
<blockquote><h5>The cost of this pro-life agent creates a barrier for some of the most vulnerable mothers and babies in the U.S.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>Only two states, Oregon and Minnesota allow Medicaid to be used to cover the cost of a doula and that at less than $500 per birth. For this reason individual and placing agencies for doulas employ creative ways to subsidize the cost for mothers who are unable to pay the full amount.</p>
<p>In response to this deficit I invite the church to consider using its burning passion for unborn children to pay for doula training for under-resourced teen girls. It would be worthwhile to convince local high schools to allow the doula training to count for a health credit towards graduation. These students would be provided the extensive, hands-on education I wish I had at 31 when I gave birth to my first baby. During a four day training, teen girls would learn to honor their God-given bodies and to embrace the entire process of birth for mother and child.</p>
<blockquote><h5>I invite the church to consider using its burning passion for unborn children to pay for doula training for under-resourced teen girls.</h5>
</blockquote>
<p>After the training she might choose a career in the childbirth industry as a doula, childbirth educator, and/or lactation consultant. Even if she does not choose to doula as a career path she has evidence-based knowledge to inform her own baby’s birth story, and those of her peers as well. This training will plant pro-life agents in under-resourced areas of our communities and plant seeds for flourishing that produce informed mothers and healthy babies.</p>
<p>If I knew back then what I know now I would not have only hired a doula but I would have become one much sooner.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/abortion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Abortion</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/gender" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Gender</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/topic/domestic-poverty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Domestic Poverty</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/categories/ideas-action" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Ideas for Action</a></div></div></div>Mon, 21 Jan 2019 08:00:00 +0000drowaan971 at http://dojustice.crcna.org